In the After

had faded. “This isn’t a test. What gave you the idea that it was?”
    “I . . . um . . . I just assumed.”
    He stood to shake my hand, his palm clammy. “Maybe we should have another chat one day soon.”
    “I’d like that,” I lied.
    He opened the door leading to the waiting room, and my mother looked up from where she sat with Baby, searching my face.
    “How did it go?” she asked, and I shrugged.
    “Just fine,” Dr. Reynolds said from the doorway. I realized my mother was asking him, not me. “I’d like to see the child now.”
    “I’ll have to translate,” I told them. I didn’t like the way he was staring at Baby, like she was a lab specimen.
    “That won’t be necessary.” Dr. Reynolds motioned for Baby to step inside his office.
    “But she doesn’t speak,” I explained, concerned. “And she barely understands spoken language.” My voice was loud, bordering on frantic. Dr. Reynolds and my mother exchanged a look.
    There was a silent understanding in that glance, and my mother said, “Don’t worry, Amy, everyone has to have their psyche-eval.”
    Baby looked to me. I tried to be strong. Go with this man. He’ll make loud speak at you. Be good .
    Baby smiled and disappeared with Dr. Reynolds into his office, the door closing with a loud thump .
    We sat and waited for Baby in silence. I didn’t feel like talking. After a while, my mother got a call on her earpiece. After a quick conversation regarding a corrupted computer file, she grabbed her computer bag. “I’m going to run this down to Richard in the lab. . . . You’ll be all right for five minutes on your own, won’t you?”
    I looked around the waiting area, taking in nothing more threatening than empty chairs and a bored secretary behind the front desk. “Yeah, Mom, I’m great.”
    She hugged me before she left, a reassuring squeeze that actually did make me feel better. Flipping through an old nature magazine, I wondered if Dr. Reynolds was really as phony as I thought he was, or if I was just projecting.
    The secretary stood suddenly, which startled me.
    “I’m just going to run to the restroom, hon,” she said, looking at me like I was an absolute freak. “Do you need to use the facilities?”
    “Um, no. I’m good. Thanks.” I sat back down and pretended to read the tattered magazine.
    As soon as she left the room, though, I felt like I might need a bathroom, if just to splash some water on my face. I hurried out the door, but barely managed to see the secretary disappear around a corner. I attempted to follow her but every hallway looked the same; I followed one corridor that led to another identical one. When I tried to backtrack, I got turned around.
    “Crap,” I whispered. I was completely lost.
    After a few long minutes, I heard voices down the hall and tried to follow the noise. Again, I turned the corner too late and saw a black door with a RESTRICTED sign closing slowly. I rushed forward and slipped inside just before it clicked shut. The hallway was empty. Where did those people go? I walked forward, my shoes echoing loudly on the hard floor. Out of habit I slipped them off and tied the laces together, draping them over my shoulder.
    I slowly continued down the bright hallway. I didn’t know what I was doing; I just wanted to find my mother and go home.
    I noticed the hallway wasn’t like the other ones. One side was lined with black doors, one of which those people must have disappeared through. The other wall had several windows. Curious, I stepped closer to the nearest window and peered through the glass. I looked into a small room, completely white except for a green form against the far wall. The green splotch wasn’t part of the decor, though, and it began to move slowly across the room.
    It took me a second to realize that I was looking at one of Them. I quickly threw myself against the opposite wall, my heart beating out of my chest. Why was the creature there? Breaking into a cold sweat, I realized that this must be where the Floraes were studied. This is where They were kept.
    I slowed my breathing back to normal and gathered enough courage to approach the glass again. The creature shuffled unhurriedly, circling its confined space. It had no reason to do otherwise; it clearly could not sense that I was there, that food was near.
    I walked slowly down the hall to look into the next room, where a Florae was feeding on a pig. Frenzied, it focused entirely on the task at hand: gore,